Tekels Park is a 50 acre woodland estate near Camberley, Surrey, England,
It is owned by the Theosophical Society (Adyar) in England and has been a
Spiritual Centre since 1929. The sale to a developer is surrounded by secrecy
but news is now leaking out and many are unhappy.

Tekels Park has always been a great source of pride to members of the
Theosophical Society and this decision represents a fundamental change in
attitude by the leadership.

_______________

What
Could This Mean ?

A Deer in the
Snow

Concerns are now being raised about the fate of the deer and other
wildlife as Tekels Park
in Camberley, Surrey is being sold to a developer.The theosophical Society in
England leadership have simply stated in the Theosophical “Insight” journal that
the part is being sold without explanation. The was not headlined but rather
tucked away in the magazine and many members have missed it.

Tekels Park
is sanctuary for animal wildlife including deer, foxes, squirrels,
badgers, bats, newts and stoats, and for birdlife including sparrowhawks,
woodpeckers, tawny owls and many more. There are many species of trees
including 3 types of redwood, ginkgo, eucalyptus, red oak, tall magnolias and
lebanese cedars.

The effect on the wildlife will be devastating and of particular concern
is the fate of the deer. Although afforded protection from cruelty under UK
Law, they are not a protected species and could be slaughtered. As with
badgers, any reduction in their foraging area could mean starvation although in
the case of deer, their plight would be more obvious and all would have to be
killed.

Part of TekelsPark
is designated as a ‘Site of Nature Conservation Interest’ (SNCI). Unfortunately
this designation carries no statutory protection. There appears to be some
misunderstanding of the SNCI status with many believing that the park is
protected when in fact it simply means that the flora and fauna are monitored
by various environmental and conservation agencies.

Badger setts are
protected by law but there is concern that development will destroy the
badgers’ foraging area, on which they depend.

Protection for badgers’
foraging area is less clearly defined than for setts and developers can legally
use heavy machinery 30 metres from the entrance to a sett and dig manually at
10 metres.

The minimum foraging
area for a badger sett is around 30 acres and as Tekels Park is 50 acres
surrounded by urban development and the M3 motorway, even a small level of
development could wipe out the badgers.

_______________

Anger
& Dismay

There is widespread anger and dismay at decision to sell Tekels Park
to a developer. The Theosophical movement is shocked to hear the news and many
of the English Society’s 200 members had no idea this was happening as the
leadership made no official announcement at the time the decision was taken. A
brief reference was made on page 21 of the final issue of the now defunct
Insight Magazine in February 2010 but this does not mention that the sale is to
a developer.

This quotation gives some idea of the importance of TekelsPark
to the Theosophical Movement.

“I know many people in the TS
(Theosophical Society) and Theosophical Movement think of TekelsPark
as their spiritual home. Long may we retain this wonderful heritage for the
Theosophical Movement”

Theosophical Society in England
member for over 40 years, Margaret Stagg, writing in Insight Magazine in 2004.
(Insight Magazine Winter 2004) Margaret was also Senior Knight of the
International Order of the Round Table, which has organised annual camps at TekelsPark
for young people every year since the early 1950s.

After some uncertainty, Tekels Park camps have so far gone ahead even
though the young people attending will certainly have been aware of the fate of
the park and the inevitable impact on the wildlife. Any agreement regarding the
future use of Tekels Park by Theosophical groups will be difficult to enforce.

TekelsPark was purchased for the Theosophical Society in England in
1929. It has been the home of many Theosophical Groups including Camberley
Lodge of the Theosophical Society, the Theosophical Society’s Esoteric Section,
the Retreat Society and the Liberal Catholic Church. Some Spiritual Groups have
had a long association with both the Theosophical Society and TekelsPark
and feel badly let down.

Although the Tekels Park Guest House is still being used for
Theosophical Society events, many now feel unable to stay there, knowing what
may now happen to the park and the wildlife. No mention is made of the sale on
the TekelsPark Guest House website and many may
still arrive there oblivious to the situation.

Madeleine Leslie-Smith, a long-term resident of TekelsPark
wrote 'A personal recollection' in 1996. She commented: “TekelsPark is in reality a mini
Nature reserve ... It is up to us to preserve it from encroachment so that it
may increasingly become a centre of Peace and dynamic spirituality”

St Francis Church was
registered as a place of worship in 1931 by the Liberal Catholic Church

The
St Francis Church Altar

There is disquiet amongst Liberal Catholic Church members that although
St Francis Church may not face demolition, they will only be allowed to use the
building courtesy of the new owner of Tekels Park
and that the building may be made available to other groups.

The Liberal Catholic Church was founded by a member of the Theosophical
Society in 1915 and has remained an integral part of the Theosophical Movement.

Selling the Gift

A great loss to the Theosophical Movement

The St Francis church building was a gift from Theosophical Society and
Liberal Catholic Church member Josephine Chambres in 1930. This is a
consecrated church and the Theosophical Movement will be spiritually poorer for
its loss.

St Francis of Assisi

Patron Saint of Animals and the Environment

St Francis of Assisi (1182 -1226)

Born in Assisi, Umbria, Italy.

St Francis is the Patron Saint of Animals
and the

Environment. These must have been
important

considerations in dedicating a church in
his name

but the association appears now to be
inconvenient

to the TekelsPark
management.

The Bishops C W Leadbeater (left) and

James Ingall Wedgwood at Tekels Park in
1930

Bishop Wedgwood was the founder of the

Liberal Catholic Church.

Despite the long tradition at Tekels
Park, the

Liberal Catholic Church are making no
effort to

save their church.

The Liberal Catholic Church

The Liberal Catholic Church came into existence as the result of a
complete re-organization in 1915-16 of the Old Catholic Church in Great Britain
upon a more liberal basis. That Church derived its orders from the Old Catholic
archiepiscopal see of Utrecht
in Holland. It
is neither Roman Catholic nor Protestant. It is called Liberal Catholic because
its outlook is both liberal and Catholic. It aims at combining Catholic forms
of worship, stately ritual, deep mysticism and witness to the reality of
sacramental grace with the widest measure of intellectual liberty and respect
for the individual conscience.
(From the Statement of Principles
of The Liberal Catholic Church, eight edition, 1986)

The Theoversity
was established by the Theosophical Society in England (Adyar) in 2006 to promote
Theosophical teachings. Compassion for animals was certainly therefore part of
the Theoversity’s agenda. Developments at Tekels Park have compromised the
Theoversity’s position and since March 2011 Theoversity activites have now
ceased.

The Diploma in Theosophy
Course now being offered by the Theosophical Society in England appears to leave
out the sensitive subject of Compassion for Animals.

____________________

Who’s
Behind the Sale
?

The whole deal is
shrouded in so much secrecy that even the majority of the Theosophical
Society’s actual card carrying members don’t appear to know what is happening
but here are some contact points.

Please note that there
is more than one Theosophical Society. Only the Theosophical Society with its
headquarters at Gloucester Place,
London is connected to TekelsPark.
This is generally known as the Theosophical Society (Adyar) as its
international headquarters are in Adyar,
India.

The Theosophical Society
administers the TekelsPark Estate through a
limited company

The Tekels
Park Estate Limited

4-6 Church Road, Burgess
Hill,

West Sussex

RH15 9AE,

It is reported on some
newsboards that the Tekels Park Estate Limited hope to get £6Million for the
Estate but this may be optimistic at this difficult economic time. Members are
at a loss to know why the leadership ignored professional advice in 2009 not to
sell Tekels Park

______________________

Suggestions
to save

Tekels
Park are ignored

Many people including
myself, have submitted suggestions to the Theosophical Society in England
headquarters for helping to save Tekels Park for wildlife and Theosophy but all
seem

to have been ignored.
There has been no members’ open forum on the future of Tekels Park as this
would allow a platform for grass roots members to express opposition to the
sale and also may draw unwanted attention.

I don’t normally have
two ideas to rub together but I’ve sent a few suggestions in to the
Theosophical Society in England headquarters in London.(no reply – probably in
the bin).

There are many, in
addition to Theosophists who would have an interest in saving Tekels Park,
including conservationists, environmentalists, those concerned with animal
welfare and local residents. Tekels Park is a venue within walking distance of
Camberley centre and the potential for generating ideas is enormous, and so far
untapped. If you have a constructive idea for saving Tekels Park, I will be
happy to publish it on this website. I won’t publish your details if you want
to remain anonymous. So please email me, Dave Marsland with your idea on davemarsland@aardvarktheosophy.co.uk

I am dedicated to the
future of the Tekels Park animals and have created this website in support of
saving them.

My main concern in
posting information on this, and related websites, is to draw attention to the sale
of the 50 acre sanctuary for wildlife to a property developer and the
inevitable deaths of the animals by slaughter or habitat destruction.

The killing of the
Tekels Park animals would be an obscenity and as a long standing student of
Theosophy, I cannot turn a blind eye.

I maintain that the
Tekels Park management and the Theosophical Society in England leadership have
attempted to keep the fate of the Park and its wildlife from public attention
and the attention of the Theosophical Society in England members.